Guide to Restoration Costs

Many car enthusiasts let their emotional attachment with their vehicle and vision for what it could be cloud their judgment when it comes to selecting a shop to do the work. Choosing the right restoration shop is the most important aspect of any restoration. Hemmings Motor News published a great column “Dealing With Shops” that is a must read. There are many restoration shops that are desperate for work these days, and will do anything to get you in the door with a low-ball bid, only to pile on the charges during the restoration process. Precision Restorations’ proprietary estimating system helps identify these unforeseen charges, and provides a clear path to the restoration you desire at a price you can afford, while meeting your expectations

A vehicle’s history has a lot to do with how much the restoration will cost. A car that has been driven and well maintained for the past 40 years will cost less to restore than one abandoned in a field with the windows knocked out for the past 40 years. A vehicle with lots of chrome trim like ‘60s Cadillacs will cost more to restore due to the high prices for rechroming. Vehicles with heavily pitted, chrome plated pot metal trim can expect a serious investment to bring these parts back to concourse quality. A rusted hulk versus solid sheet metal can account for a $20,000 difference in restoration costs for the same vehicle. Cars that don’t have a readily available selection of reproduction parts will cost more in sheer labor costs to bring them back to showroom condition.

Accurately estimating restoration costs is not an easy process. Precision Restorations performs a four-hour on-site evaluation when a vehicle is delivered to its 24,000 square-foot facility. They have a 180-item check list that spends two hours evaluating mechanical requirements, 1.5 hours on paint and body issues and .5 hours on interior needs. In spite of this close scrutiny there are still some unknowns and Precision spells those out clearly. First, if the vehicle is not running it is difficult to evaluate things like transmission function, so those components require disassembly to determine their restoration requirements. However, a low-mileage vehicle can usually get by with a thorough cleaning and new seals and gaskets while a high-mileage vehicle should be budgeted for a complete rebuild. Another unknown is the true body condition. Until the paint has been blasted away, some bodywork and previous damage is not readily apparent.

A restoration shop’s estimate is only as good as the shop that did it. With many shops, the estimate is the last communication you will have with them, except for the monthly bill. A restoration estimate is useless without a production schedule attached to it. You need to know two things: how much and when. Precision Restorations provides a realistic production schedule with each on-site restoration estimate. If you decide to proceed your vehicle is disassembled and the parts are labeled, cataloged and stored in a secure warehouse area. Detailed photos are taken during the disassembly process, so there is no confusion about the condition or completeness of individual components.

It is impossible to give someone an accurate restoration estimate without having the vehicle in our facility for our four-hour general inspection. However, it is possible to provide price ranges on what our various services cost. Again, if you are trying to ballpark the restoration costs for your vehicle, be honest with yourself about the real condition of each aspect of your vehicle. Does your vehicle need a cosmetic restoration, or a full frame-off rebuild. A cosmetic “facelift” can cost anywhere from $15,000 – $30,000. A full frame-off can cost $45,000 – $100,000 depending upon the complexity of the vehicle. A Model A is a simple car with very few (and readily available) parts and is going to cost much less than a Hemi Superbird with date-coded extremely rare parts.